Poppies for the Overworked
by burst 'N bloom
Summary: “Go to bed, Castor-san. I may have slipped you the wrong seed; perhaps a poppy instead of a lotus.” He gave an almost mirthful upturn of the lips. “An honest mistake.” Castor/Labrador


Disclaimer: clearly not mine. lol

Um… so this is before Hakuren leaves Castor :P

Ignore the OOC-ness. Sometimes it's hard to get a real grasp of their characters O_O

* * *

A quiet breeze curled in from the east corner of the church grounds, carrying with it the faint fragrance of lavender intermingled with the smell of roses. Castor inhaled the tinged air peacefully, trying to ignore the tiny nuisance that had attached itself onto his arm like a leech. Hakuren Oak wasn't exactly a terrible apprentice; in fact, his enthusiasm was contagious and usually wonderful, but recently… Castor kind of regretted taking him in.

It was mostly because of the tiny fact that Hakuren had somehow got it into his head that as bishop and apprentice, the two men had to learn more about each other in order to 'strengthen' their bond. Mostly what that meant for Castor was a barrage of questions barreling at him from left and right.

Hakuren was currently tugging at Castor's sleeve and asking him another slew of random things.

"Castor-san! Would it be rude to ask you why you make dolls?" Castor shrugged and continued walking, Hakuren trailing close by.

"Not at all, Hakuren. I guess it started off with loneliness and wanting my mother to be with me, but now it's just a force of habit."

Typically Hakuren insisted on Castor asking _him_ a question in turn, but this time, he continued to inquire even further.

"Oh… Castor-san, why are all your dolls women?"

"That isn't necessarily true, Hakuren-kun. Anyways, most of them are female since women are aesthetically more beautiful than men generally are." He simply said before breathing in another faint spell of lavender air and smiling vaguely.

"Does that mean Castor-san thinks of himself as beautiful?"

"_EH?" _He slowly turned around and faced Hakuren's youthful eyes with curiosity. "What makes you think that?"

_ "_I… may have seen a doll of you around before…"

"Er. Hakuren, I make dolls of myself for protection and for fighting; there are two types of dolls I make: one ,a tool I use for practical circumstances and the other, just my own aesthetic inspiration."

"Oh... OH that's right! Castor-san, how come I've seen dolls made for Bishop Frau and you, but I haven't ever seen one of Bishop Labrador?"

Castor stiffened slightly and let out a gentle laugh.

"Hakuren, don't you think it's my turn to ask the questions now? What was that, 5?" The blonde quickly deadpanned and murmured apologies to the smiling redhead bishop. The air somehow felt lighter and Castor could feel the rays of sunlight dappling on his skin like feather-light flower petals. He breathed in another breath of the soft lavender scent and continued walking with Hakuren, a gentle silence settling between the two.

* * *

It was almost twilight and the night sky was painted a thick black hue. Sprinkled on its face were tiny speckles of glittering light – stars – that shone on the slumbering garden of the church. A tall figure was striding over to a large tree. He leaned over and gently tugged at something on the ground.

"Labrador... Are you asleep?" From the crook of the tree roots, a lean pale man stirred awake. His soft lilac hair was rustled against the foliage and his eyes peeled open to catch the russet eyes of a tall bishop. He blinked, once, twice, and then rubbed his eyes blearily.

"Ah, Castor-san. Yes, do you need anything?" The man with the lilac hair on the ground smiled sweetly, the sleepiness still evident in his eyes.

"Sorry for intruding your sleep, Labrador. I was just wondering if you'd… help me with something?" Castor sounded a bit unsure, and any lesser man would've been twiddling his thumbs awkwardly. Labrador nodded and pushed himself off of the ground.

"Of course, I'd be more than happy to." Then that gentle sweet smile came back and poured onto Castor again, like a warm yellow light flooding his senses. Castor nodded and began walking to his room, Labrador following closely behind. He slowly glanced back at the flowers, dormant in their sleep; hopefully whatever Castor needed wouldn't take too long…

* * *

When they arrived at Castor's room, Labrador wasn't surprised to see dolls littering every which corner of the place; he'd been in the room only a few times before and not much had changed. In the middle was a large black coffin, the top of which was unveiled and gaping open. On the side was a gargantuan bed, topped with flush white sheets and soft pillows. A desk sat against another side of the wall and Labrador could see a life-sized doll perched atop of it. For lack of light in the room, he couldn't make out the face.

When Castor flicked on the lights and motioned for Labrador to sit down, the tired man unknowingly acquiesced and sat himself quietly down. Then Castor motioned languidly at the doll sitting on the desk.

"Hakuren said something today and it made me want to work on this again." He muttered quietly. In the bright light of Castor's room, Labrador could make out the face of the doll: it was himself. It was odd, staring at a life-sized image of himself, but for all the sleepiness he felt, he couldn't muster a response.

Castor glanced over at Labrador, then back at the doll and frowned instantly. He picked up his tools and began working the wood intensely, glancing back and forth from his work to Labrador's form. Labrador wasn't sure but he was fairly certain that he heard Castor murmuring to himself angrily as he worked.

As Labrador slowly felt himself slip away to a dull rhythmic breathing from his exhaustion, Castor suddenly hoisted the man up Frau/Teito style and placed the younger bishop onto the plush white bed.

"Sorry for bothering you. It's just, I really want to finish this…" Castor sent a quiet smile at Labrador, who nodded ephemerally back. He wasn't so tired that he couldn't make out Castor moving his tools and doll over to face his prostrate form.

Nor was he too tired to notice Castor's feather-light touches on the wooden body mirrored on his own body. Castor's fingertips grazed Labrador's hand lightly, touching each crevice and joint expertly with soft glances – then they turned over to touch the same area on the doll; gripping a set of tools, he set out to fix every inch of the lifeless object. And it continued on through the night. Castor hesitatingly reached out and assessed the contours of Labrador's body with precision and care to try and imitate it in the hardened wood body before him. Labrador's lilac eyes were still open as he watched the redhead continue working deep into the night. Just as he felt himself slowly slipping back into a rhythmic sleep, he suddenly felt evanescent touches on his lips, brushing with gentle care and then disappearing, leaving the imitation of heat lingering like fire on his skin.

He tensed. That may have been going beyond what the work demanded. But when he glanced over, Castor was already chiseling tiny slivers of wood from the bow of the doll's mouth, completely immersed in his work.

Sighing, Labrador picked himself up from the bed and stood up. Castor glanced at him in alarm and blinked.

"Castor-san, you're bound to get tired. Shouldn't you get to bed soon?"

"I have to make this perfect." His words sounded old and worn, tired and frustrated at the job. Labrador stared appraisingly at the already perfect mirror image of himself sitting at Castor's hands. "I.. I don't want to mess it up."

Labrador grabbed a glass cup and poured some water into it. From the folds of his robes, he found a small seed and plopped it into the water. As the seed blossomed and the water shifted into a soft shade of pale gold, he handed the cup to Castor.

"This should keep you energetic so you can keep working." He said quietly before striding back to Castor's bed. He sat down now, choosing not to lie down, and stared critically at the piece of work. "Castor-san, it looks exactly like me,"

Castor took a small sip of the drink and grinned at the sweetness before turning to face Labrador. He glanced over at the doll and shook his head immediately.

"No, definitely not. I haven't captured it."

"What exactly is _it?"_

_ "_… well, everything really. This is why I stopped making yours in the first place." He said, almost disgruntled. He tossed a tool away and stared at Labrador's doll inscrutably. Then he looked at Labrador. His hand slowly reached out and held Labrador's cheek, his pale thumb gently stroking the soft skin. "See, everything's perfect here. I've never had to work so hard on a doll before, but if I make even one mistake, I'll… I'll be disgracing God." His hand slowly retreated and then touched the doll in the same manner. "It's just.. not the same."

Then frowning, he suddenly plopped down and clutched his head with his free hand.

Labrador closed his eyes slightly and leaned back onto the soft folds of the bed.

"Go to bed, Castor-san. I may have slipped you the wrong seed; perhaps a poppy instead of a lotus." He gave an almost mirthful upturn of the lips. "An honest mistake."

Castor, overtaken by a clumsy wave of hesitance and exhaustion, yawned and slowly slumped forward. He couldn't for the life of him remember exactly what a poppy looked like or a lotus for that matter, but he was fairly certain that the two weren't exactly easily mixed up.

He felt Labrador's smaller hands grip his arm tightly and lift him up, carrying him into the casket where he occasionally slept. There he was laid and as his copper eyelashes fluttered open for the barest second, he saw Labrador's violet glimmering eyes and he knew that no amount of time or woodwork would ever recreate the beauty he held.

* * *

I'm like considering making this multichapter, considering leaving it alone. We'll see how lazy I'm feeling :)

Read and review?


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